No. Use a road wheelset.

For that kind of use road wheels are fine. The wider the better.

Unless you're really hard on wheels, I'd say you'll be alright.

If you're over 180-190 I would err on the side of more spokes. Can't really go wrong with a set of 30-32 spokes.

Get the widest, strongest rim you can find. 200 grams won't affect you much but a wobbly wheel will.

thanks guys -

should mention i weigh ~175 lbs. i don't anticipate any serious singletrack.

-mike

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

Go to prowheelbuilder and get a set of pancetti sl24 rims (get the newer version, wider) built on a dt swiss 350 hub with sapim strong spokes. That will be bomb proof and with their very reasonable build fees the set should be around 550. If you really want to go cheap you can use a shimano 105 hub set and still be fine. I would go with a 32 rear/24front just to ensure you are rock solid in case of some occasional hard cross racing.

Why do you recommend such heavy duty spokes with a lightweight rim?

Buy some Flo 30 rims with maybe a 24/28 spoke count and get your LBS to build them up.

i'll be living in switzerland, so "getting the bike shop to build" anything up means adding several zeroes to the price! i think i'll just order something online!

-mike

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____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

If you're not racing competitively, there is no reason to get anything special for wheels, except maybe something a bit wider. (Although I raced on Ksyriums for years with good results.) I've since gone with tubeless compatible wheels, but that's for racing.

The biggest upgrade I made to my old CX bike was new brakes. (It's an '09 Trek XO2) It came with Avid Shorty 3s. Those were terrible for stopping. As in, they only served to scrub speed and I'm not sure I could lock up a wheel even if I wanted to. In 2013, I pulled those off and put on the Avid Shorty Ultimates with Shimano DA brake pads. A world of difference. Not sure what the latest is on cantis but if you're touring or riding in the rain, this might be worth considering.

I'm since upgraded to a carbon fibre bike with hydraulic discs and Di2, but that's a different story. :)

Might be slightly overkill but i have never had an issue with this rim, but i have snapped spokes before. For a very slight weight penalty (which he would not care about) you get a bit more security in the long haul.


Edit: I like the pancetti rim because its cheap, strong, light, and wide. If you want to go to a slightly stronger rim you can get the HED c2+ rim (150 bucks) or pretty much any DT swiss rim. For training i like the non aero spokes, i think the wheels stay true longer but then again that might just be a n=1 artifact.

Velocity A23 Rims 32h f/r
Shimano 105 hubs
Dt swiss spokes - Comps on the rear - Revs on the front
Brass nipps.

That will hold up to anything you will want to do. That is my training/gravel road setup.
Race setup is almost the same Ultegra hubs to Major Tom Rims.

Seriously, there is no need to go out and get some new handbuilt wheels.

Take an old road wheelset you already have and use it or buy one from ebay/classifieds for less than $200. Run them until you trash them, and buy another set. More than likely you won't be able to trash them...most budget level road wheels are pretty damn sturdy.

Look for a set of used Mavics.